1. China’s On-Demand Organ Transplant Industry

China, the most populated nation on earth, has become home to a booming organ transplantation industry. According to conservative estimates by experts both inside and outside China, there are at least one million patients waiting for liver transplants,¹ at least one million waiting for kidney transplants,² more than four million leukemia patients waiting for bone marrow transplants, and four million needing corneal transplants.³

China began to conduct research and clinical experiments in human organ transplantation in the 1960s. It was not until 2000 that the industry in China entered a period of tremendous growth. The government has incorporated organ transplantation into its national strategy and invested heavily in research, development, and personnel training in transplantation technology. New techniques for transplantation and postoperative care have emerged and proliferated. Liver and kidney transplants have become routine surgery in clinical practice.

Before 1999, there were 150 transplant institutions in Mainland China.⁴ In 2007, more than 1,000 hospitals applied for permits from the Ministry of Health to continue performing transplants.^{5 6} The surge in transplants, while mostly absorbed by the domestic population was accompanied by a corresponding boom in transplant tourism from other countries, making China a global center for those in need of new vital organs.

In this chapter:

1. Fast Growth of China’s Transplant Industry Since 2000
2. On-Demand Transplants
3. Volume Indicators

References